The 6 nations drinking game
Thu, 4th of February 7:53 pm
As anyone who follows the grand sport of Rugby Union will know The 6 nations kicks off this Saturday with Ireland vs. Italy at 14:30 (UK time) followed by England vs. Wales at 17:00. I shall be watching the game at a friends house in Swansea with a group of like minded, rugby obsessed Welsh fans. And this year, thanks to one of my flat-mate’s mates who forwarded us this to us, we’ll all be enjoying the match with a twist as we play:
The 6 Nations Drinking Game
The rules are as follows, I’ve shared them here in case you’d like to join in wherever you may be watching the match, enjoy!
- Try scored = 3 fingers
- Knock on = 2 fingers
- Substitution = 2 fingers
- Multiple substitutes at once = finish remainder of pint
- Drop goal = 2 fingers
- If a decision goes to the TMO, everyone must predict ‘try’ or ‘no try’, those who are wrong = finish remainder of pint (this overrules rule 1)
- Conversion/penalty, everyone must predict whether it will be ’slotted’ or ‘missed’, those who are wrong = finish remainder of pint
- If Brian Moore or Jonathan Davies get overly patriotic and/or slightly racist towards other nations = 3 fingers
- If Brian Moore disagrees with the ref = 3 fingers
- Mass brawl and play is stopped = you must be drinking until play is resumed
- Blood replacement, last man to shout ‘fake’ = 3 fingers
- If Italy win a game = DRINK EVERYTHING AVAILABLE (or just get a new round in and down it in one)
- If the words ‘Grand Slam’ / ‘Triple Crown’ / ‘Championship’ are mentioned in commentary then everyone must repeat that word, last one to repeat = finish remainder of pint and then stand up (they remain standing until one of these words are mentioned in commentary again (at which point the process is repeated))
- Sin Bin = 3 fingers
- Red card, last man to shout ‘off’ = finish remainder of pint and then down another one straight after
- If Lewis Moody is first to make a tackle at the kick off, last man to shout ‘Mad Dog’ = finishes pint
- If anyone shouts ‘offside’ and its given by the ref = everyone else must drink 2 fingers
- if anyone shouts ‘offside’ and its not given by the ref= they must finish their pint
OPTIONAL PROLOGUE
- At the national anthem, for every player not singing = 1 gulp
- At the national anthem, if any players are caught crying = finish the remainder of pint
(These optional rules refer to the players on the pitch, not the players of the drinking game)
Home bouldering – when I have my own house…
Thu, 21st of January 1:14 pm
When I have my own house, I’d love to set something like this up…
I’m missing out
Tue, 19th of January 1:13 pm
So far this week, thanks to my auto spam filter, I’m missing out on:
- A replaced roof
- A certificate in nursing
- A power wheelchair
- A windows vista critical update (I don’t run windows on my mac…)
- Huge savings on premium business cards
- The chance to make $30,000 in 42 days
- Free uncensored World TV on my PC
- Fresh candy
- $1,000 worth of Victoria secret vouchers
- A beautiful smile
- A new bathroom
It’s amazing what you can get on the Internet…
Darth Vader and Stormtroopers attempt to turn shoppers to the Dark side on Carnaby Street
Mon, 18th of January 10:31 am
Darth Vader and a couple of Stormtroopers were spotted on Carnaby Street this weekend. Seems even Sith Lords have to make time for recruitment drives as part of the day to day running of the evil Empire!
New year, new me – Data tracking
Thu, 14th of January 1:50 pm
In yesterday’s post I talked about my New Year’s resolution to try and get fit. So far I’m just over a week and a half into my six week stint at regular exercise. And although I’m determined to stick it out, I’ve already found it a challenge some mornings to find the motivation. So today I thought I’d share how I’m finding the will power to push on each morning, and it’s all down to tracking.
Now it may just be a personality trait, or my many years of brainwashing training as a consultant, but I firmly believe that the key to reaching a goal is tracking your progress. And for me, to help me reach my goal of getting fitter, that involves three simple things:
- iFitness – an iPhone application that lets you track your workouts
- bathroom scales – with body fat percentage measureing capability
- a calendar print out and a big red marker.
1. First the iPhone app, iFitness
At £1.19 (current price on date of publishing) this personal trainer application is a steal. It has a simple interface that allows you to create your own workout routines from an extensive list of exercises. Each exercise is explained in detail, with photos to show the states of each move and in many cases a short video clip of the move for clarity. Each exercise also lists which muscle groups the move will engage and whether it is something for beginners, intermediates or experts.
As well as letting you create your own routines, there are a number already listed for you, so even the laziest of people can get going from the first time they launch the application.
The killer feature for me, bearing in mind the subject of this post, is that iFitness allows you to enter and track the number of sets, reps and amount of weight you lift in each session. Once you have done more and a couple of days worth of exercise it will even show you your stats on a graph. Being able to track and review the effort I’ve put in to my workout really helps me keep up the motivation to keep going – I don’t want to see a flatline in my stats because I was too lazy to workout one day!
2. The second tool I use is a set of bathroom scales that also measure body fat percentage
If you remember from yesterday’s post, I’m not too bothered about loosing weight, but would like to lower my body fat percentage. As well as allowing me to track my workouts, iFitness also allows me to record body weight measurements and my body fat percentage, again drawing the results over time on a convenient graph. As before being able to look back over my records is helping to keep me motivated. Only I and my actions can effect the trend on these graphs!
3. The third and final tool is the most simple; a calendar
I’ve printed off a calendar sheet for January and Febuary and stuck them on my wall above my desk. Each day that I complete my workout I mark a big red X in the day on the calendar. I’ve also marked the day that is my last day of the six weeks. It sounds stupid, and I wouldn’t have believed it until I started doing it, but this simple task is the biggest motivator for me. There is no way I want to break that chain of crossed out days by taking a day out. One break in the pattern is a waste of the effort from each of the previous days. Knowing that will, I hope, become even more motivating the longer the chain lasts.
Read more about the iFitness application at medicalprod.com/ifitness.html
Read more about the bathroom scales that I use at Amazon: Hanson HFA Cellis Body Fat Analyser Monitor White
New year, new me. Well, old me but an improved athletic version. Maybe.
Wed, 13th of January 3:13 pm
I decided this year that my New Year resolution would be to get fit. I know, I know, we all say it, and in reality for a week or two in January most of us will buy some new gym kit and work out a couple of times here and there, but generally not do enough for long enough to make a difference. I’ve done exactly that in years gone by.
This year, however, I’m determined. I’m following a strict 5 days a week plan that varies the the target muscle groups each day and is all designed to be done at home without the need for anything more than a bit of space, some dumbbells and somewhere to go for a run, i.e. the street or the park.
My plan is to stick to this for 6 weeks and see what happens. If after 6 weeks I’m feeling more fit, and enjoying doing it still, I’ll change my routine to be more challenging and set another 6 week target to meet. If at the end of it I’m not seeing any results, or just not enjoying it I can say I’ve met my challenge and move on to something else.
So far I’m half way through the second week of my 6 week target, and feeling pretty good about it. My goal is not to loose weight (though I won’t be upset if I do) but to get fitter, reduce my body fat percentage and to be a bit more lean and toned. So far my stomach is looking a little less wobbly and my arms and shoulders are feeling stronger by the day.
My routine is as follows:
Monday – Arms and abs
- Reverse crunch – 3 sets of 150 reps
- Traditional crunch – 3 sets of 150 reps
- Dumbbell biceps curl – 3 sets of 50 reps (25 each arm)
- Triceps kickback – 3 sets of 20 reps (10 each arm)
- Dumbbell wrist twist – 3 sets of 10 reps
- Jogging – aim for 30 minutes at a good pace
Tuesday – Legs, chest and back, abs
- Dumbbell squat – 3 sets of 8 reps
- Romanian deadlift – 3 sets of 8 reps
- Clam – 3 sets of 150 reps
- Crunch twist – 3 sets of 150 reps
- Pushup – 3 sets of 10
- Rotational pushup – 3 sets of 10
- Diamond pushup – 3 sets of 10
Wednesday – Abs and cardio
- Traditional crunch – 3 sets of 150 reps
- Twisting crunch – 3 sets of 150 reps
- Jogging – aim for 60 minutes of medium pace
Thursday – Shoulders and abs
- Arnold press – 3 sets of 10 reps
- Dumbbell lateral raise – 3 sets of 6 reps
- Dumbbell shoulder press – 3 sets of 10 reps
- Shrug – 3 sets of 10 reps
- Seated reverse fly – 3 sets of 8 reps
- Pushup – 3 sets of 8 reps
- Rotational pushup – 3 sets of 10 reps
- Clam – 3 sets of 150 reps
- Crunch twist – 3 sets of 150 reps
Friday – Legs, abs and cardio
- Calm – 3 sets of 150 reps
- Crunch twist – 3 sets of 150 reps
- Dead lift – 3 sets of 10 reps
- Dumbbell front squat – 3 sets of 10 reps
- Dumbbell lunge – 3 sets of 20 reps (10 each leg)
- Jogging – aim for 30 minutes at a slow pace
Each day takes about an hour to an hour and a half so far, but I think I’ll speed up as I get into the swing of things.
So far, I’ve not done the jogging bits. Bad, I know. But with all the snow and ice that’s been about I don’t really fancy running around and slipping over, so I’m holding off until it’s all thawed out. I don’t mind jogging in the cold, wind, or rain, just not on icy roads and pavements that I’ve been struggling to walk on.
Here’s to the next four and a half weeks.
Review: Klipsch Image S4i Earphones with Mircophone
Mon, 11th of January 7:06 pm
After the third pair of Apple standard iphone earphones failed on me just after Christmas (all three pairs I’ve owned have suffered from a wire break somewhere that causes one of the earphones, usually the right one, to stop pumping out sound) I decided that maybe it was time to invest some of the Christmas money I’d been given by family on a “proper” pair.
I like to listen to music, and I do a lot. Especially when I’m out and about in town running errands, or traveling by train around the country to visit the Mrs, or family and friends. Having said that I’m not a hardcore audiophile. I know what sounds good to me, but once you reach a base level of quality of sound the difference between one set of speakers and the next is not audible to my untrained ears. So ruling out any pair that tipped the scales at over £100 I started looking for something a bit above the standard, white Apple fare.
My only requirement, other than the price point, was that I wanted a pair that had a microphone built in and allowed me to control my music in the same way that the Apple ‘phones did (volume control, fastward, rewind, call answering, voice control activation, etc) through a remote in the cable. After much searching around on Amazon and Apple’s own webstore I decided to go with the Klipsch Image S4i set with microphone.
That was a few weeks ago, and having lived with them for that amount of time I can say I’m pretty happy with them.
Compared with the standard Apple ‘phones the sound quality is fantastic. I had to change the ear tips to find a shape and size that worked best for me, but once done the external noise cancellation is brilliant. Walking around central London and using the Tube is one heck of a test for ‘phones and these pass with flying colours. With my old Apple set I could barely hear my music on the Tube without turning the volume up so loud as that my ears hurt and my fellow passengers started to give me those sideways glances that translate to; “if I was a little braver, I’d ask you to turn that noise down, but you’re quite a big guy and I don’t want to be the only person who complains. I’m so British…”
I’ve not yet taken or made a call yet using them, but I’m sure the sound quality will be at least as good as the latest Apple offering (which I never had any problems with).
My only slight gripe with their design is the placement of the remote and microphone. The standard Apple set have the microphone / remote control placed on the right ‘phone wire. Just at the right height to be able to run the main wire under your jumper / coat / etc and still be able to locate and use the buttons. For me, it was also the right height to be pretty close to my mouth when using the microphone to make calls. The Klipsch set have the remote / microphone located just below the point where the left and right wires split, a feature that I’m sure will make them more durable. The problem is that in this cold weather when I’ve been wrapped up in jumper, coat, scarve, etc I like to run the wire inside my clothing so it’s not flapping in the wind (literally) which means the remote ends up being buried under several layers and becomes unusable. It may just be the way I wear them, but it is a little frustrating.
All in all though, I’d say that these were well worth the price and assuming that they last longer than the Apple sets I’ve owned (fingers crossed) I’ll be sticking with them for the foreseeable future.
Read more reviews of the Klipsch Image S4i Headset on Amazon
Read more reviews of the Klipsch Image S4i Headset at the Apple store
5% off all Dell Studio, Inspiron & XPS orders over £699 from the 7th Jan to the 13th Jan
Wed, 6th of January 6:49 pm
The folks over at Dell are offering 5% off all orders for their Studio, Inpiron and XPS lines if they’re over £699. Enter the voucher code below to get the discount. The offer is running from the 7th Jan until the 13th.
5% off Dell voucher code: S32S$HG1?B1RCP
iPhone controlled helicopter drone coming this year – oh yes
Wed, 6th of January 1:33 pm
Love it or hate it, the iPhone has proven extremely popular and has changed the way that we think about our mobile phones. It’s also made reality a whole host of future technology – the touch controls, the advanced interface, the motion control, all things that at the start of the last decade we would have thought of as pure fantasy. Now real.
Now Parrot have combined the iPhone with some other futuristic tech, and I for one want! Check out their iPhone controlled AR.Drone helicopter.
Or check out the video below:
Wet ceiling – dry floors – people of limited intelligence
Tue, 1st of December 3:13 pm
In the past 4-5 years of living in flats (or apartments as our cousins over the pond like to call them) I have been leaked on three times. Twice by the same lady in my old place and once by the guy upstairs in my new place.
On all three occasions (and bear in mind that on two of those three it was the same person I was talking to) I have had to explain to the nice people leaking on me that although they can’t see any water on their ceilings or floors, the fact that my ceiling is wet means that their flat has a leak.
On all three occasions I’ve been left perplexed, not so much by the rudeness of their “it’s not my problem” attitude, but by the fact that they don’t seem to understand that thanks to the wonder that is gravity, water runs DOWNWARDS.
“My floor is dry, can’t be anything up here.”
“Err, but my ceiling is dripping. There must be a leak somewhere. Maybe there’s a pipe between my ceiling and your floor that’s causing the problem?”
“Can’t be, my floor is dry.”
“Yes, I can see that, but water tends to run down, so if there is a pipe under there that is leaking your floor would be dry, and my ceiling would be wet.”
“But my floor is dry.”
“Err, yes, let’s try that again…”
Is it really that hard to understand? Water goes down. As in from high to low, top to bottom. Not up.